When You're Sleeping
by Nataleia
Summary: Leia has returned from a self-tour around Cloud City to find Han asleep after a long day in the city's casinos and that's when she sees him in an entirely new light.


Trundling through Cloud City's corridors for an hour had almost caused Leia to collapse in a heap. Finally coming to the living quarters she had been assigned to was like a miracle to her. Walking through the city had been the only thing she had the strength to do, and it had come as a joy. She'd been walking, watching people laughing and smiling around her unlike her home planet where they would've been jumping at every shadow, it was a necessary change and a pleasure - but a tiring one.

She smiled calmly and let her fingers trail down the sensor pad of the door in front of her and it slid open. It revealed a circular white room with seats positioned in an arc in the middle. She stretched her arms and felt her joints pop and crack at the motion, and then relaxed again, walking into the room. She figured she'd be alone. Chewie had gone to find 3PO and Lando had been sorting out employees to work on the _Falcon._

She wandered into the room and looked out of the window for a moment then, Cloud City reminded Leia of Coruscant. Its high reaching towers shot sparkling beams through the city's centre, casting a prism over the wandering people. She had, indeed, enquired many times of how Cloud City could stay afloat. But every time she asked she was just told because of the planet's uninhabitable surface, they could not live on the ground. She had figured it was some anti-gravity nonsense. While she had been doing this Han had been following up his hobby of gambling and had retreated to the lower fifty levels of the city's floors to the casinos and betting rooms. Something she should've anticipated would happen.

Leia backed away from the window and sat down on one of the arched seats, craning her neck against to soft leather, digging her head into the cushion. The feel of the fabric soothed her mind and she exhaled at the liberty of sleep. Her caped attire served as a blanket over her lap, tugging at the silk she wrapped it over her. It was twilight now in Bespin and the atmosphere was slightly colder, sending a shiver up Leia's spine.

She fell across the leather letting her eyes close and rested her cheek against the cool material. Her mind relished the thought of sleep and knowing that Chewie and Lando would be a few hours more added to her satisfaction.

Blinking, she lifted her head and found her self to be in the presence of a near-unconscious smuggler.

Han Solo was hunched up against the window-sill sleepy eyed looking out across the city. His hair was sleep-tousled, his jacket was chucked across one of the chairs on the other end of the room and his head was buried in his crossed arms with his eyes half open looking wonderingly onto the city. The white collar of his shirt was stuck up around his neck in a boyish manner making him look seventeen again.

Leia found her self blushing at the situation, she'd thought she was alone; walking into the room she hadn't even seen him. But she couldn't look away. She was seeing him in a completely different light. A lazy, child-like light, and it made her smile stupidly. For the whole time she knew him he had always been more alert than her, more upbeat and now he was half dead leaned up against a window.

At her first thoughts she would've apprehended that he would be fixing the _Falcon._ Previously he had never let anyone else touch the _Falcon_ - he and Chewie had been the only ones who were allowed near it. But going down into the casinos had tired him out completely and now the fate of the _Falcon _was left to some strangers. Knowing this he had probably lost all their money to the casino too.

Leia rubbed her eyes thoroughly and sat up from the leather, fighting off a near death head rush. She stood from the arched chair and picked up a cantina from the side, taking a sip from it. Han still hadn't noticed her presence and persisted on staring out of the window lazily. Leia smiled and set the cantina down on the white surface still watching him. She wondered if Chewie had the same problem. Leia left the drink and walked, cloak swaying, over to Han's coat. She picked it up and dusted it down. It was far heavier than she had expected and it looked about ten years old and was covered in scuff marks and loose threads.

After unravelling it from its bundle Leia moved across the room towards the window and huddled the coat around Han's back. Her father had done this to her when she was young. She would often fall asleep on the grass in the courtyard and awake with a blanket lay over her. She flattened down his collar around his neck and brushed her fingers through his hair before sitting down next to him.

He noticed her then and looked towards her. There was no surprise in his eyes, like he had caught her spying on him or hiding. He was just calm, like he had known she was there the entire time. His eyes watched her idly for a moment before he turned full head towards her and rested against his arms again. "You love me," he whispered, still half asleep.

Leia laughed off his accusation lightly and kissed his cheek. "You're having a dream."

"I am your dream." He winked, shrugging off his coat, and put an arm around Leia's waist pulling her closer to him.

She accepted his gesture and leaned into the hollow of his neck. "If that's what you want to believe," she smiled, watching the sunset with him.


End file.
